Dungeon World is such a light free system. I'm using it to introduce my brother to rpgs, because it's simple to learn and full of possibilities. I loved hearing it played on Friends at the Table, and having tried it for myself now, I like it even more.

If I have to run any sort of game that feels anything like Dungeons and Dragons, it's going to be Dungeon World. This is the perfect RPG that has all the elements of classic D&D lore and feeling, and for whatever reason just exudes the flavor I felt playing D&D as a kid 30 years ago.
Additionally, it's a great starter system for anyone familiar with classic RPGs, but looking to get into the Apocalypse World style of GMing and games. The book reads partly as a how-to for the system itself, but so much of it actually reads as a how-to for GM-ing in general. The advice here is great for running almost any role playing game.
Absolutely fantastic game.

Dungeon World is one of the best indie RPG's out there. It combines celver mechanics with a strong poetry layer that darws you in. It is also a very diverse game playbol both by pepole who never played a RPG in their love as well as pepole who have played RPG's for most of their lives. It takes the best parts of Apolcalypse World and adds it's own flavour to it.

Been playing since ad&d1e. These rules support what I always wanted out of the tabletop experience. This is a great entry point to tabletop, easy to learn and fast ro set up, it is deeply satisfying for veteran players as well. Cheap enough to be an impulse buy, but after using it online I wanted a physical copy. The approach to running a game directly translates to any system, and has flatl out made me better GM.

This is such a good book. I learned a lot about dming from this. The partial successes and interesting failures really add to a game. The section on fronts completely changed the way I run campaigns / adventures. I've recommended the front section to many people off the back of "My campaign isn't working how I expected it to." conversations. I'm running a lot classic D&D adventures using Dungeon World and I no longer have so much of an issue waiting until my players are a specific level before throwing stuff at them. First level characters are more powerful than 1st level D&D characters, there isn't such a gap between levels, and the way monsters are designed means the game runs in a narrower power band than D&D. There are bits about this game that are obviously good and there are bits about this game that are subtly good.

I played this game several times with different roles. I found it easy to learn with clear language and instructive book. For those taking the role of GM, Dungeon Worlds great mechanized tools for great game mastering techniques written in a plain language. I recommend it for anyone who wishes to learn the role of GM.

Dungeon World is a "D&D-like" game based on the Apocalypse World game engine. Like a favorite of mine, Monsterhearts, the base system has had some changes to reflect the nature of the game being played. So DW features stats named "Strength", "Constitution", "Dexterity", "Intelligence", "Wisdom" and "Charisma". This makes playing DW a little more familiar to those of us that cut our baby teeth on D&D.
DW is a large book, 400+ pages and it basically details the sorts of things one can do in a D&D-like game. I keep saying D&D-like because that is really what this is. This is not D&D, nor is it a clone. It is a different system to achieve the same sort of stated goals. Though there are other things you can do as well.
There are a lot of reviews for DW out there. It is a well reviewed game with good reviews. I have not played DW myself, so I can't speak for the game play, but the rules read easy enough.
In DW there is a very basic mechanic (The Move) and it is up to the player to describe what that is. After that it is a simple Attribute+die roll vs. Target Number roll. In this case the Target Number is 10, but things happen if you roll a 7-9 or below a 6. This is similar to many modern games. The attribute modifiers for DW are the same as most Old-School D&D/Clones, ie 18 = +3 (not +4). This makes using your current character a bit easier in some respects.
Chapter 3 covers the Character Creation. Chapter 4 covers Basic and Special moves. Each chapter after that is dedicated to each of the character classes and their class-specific moves. Each class gets about 8 pages, and then some more for spells. All the classics are here. The Barbarian is even added as a seperate file as a value add.
Chapter 13 covers how to Game Master, Chapter 14 covers the first session and Chapter 15 covers areas or Fronts where the action will happen. Not bad chapters actually.
Chapter 17 covers the monster creation and use guidelines. After the monsters are divided up by locales or by theme.
Chapter 18 cover equipment including magic items.

What does DW offer the D&D Player?
Given the more narrative focus (and less crunch) of DW, D&D players can get some more tips on role-playing, setting up adventures and more immerseve play in general. It seems to me that DW was created as a retort to 4th ed D&D and it's focus on battle-mat play. It is rather compatible though with 5e. Many of same ideas in terms of playing a character or running a game are in both games.
For $10.00 for a PDF and at 400+ pages it would be a nice resource for a group wanting to continue in the same world or the same characters, just looking for some more depth and faster play.

WHAT WORKS: Holy smokes...talk about taking the World Engine and running with it. These guys clearly have a fondness for D&D tropes, because you don't write a 400 page book about emulating D&D tropes in a different game system without having some kind of fondness for it. Again, speaking from experience, the World Engine does work pretty well, so long as you're not afraid to improvise. The bestiary is impressive and covers a LOT of ground (not surprising, given the context of the game). Lots and lots of explanations.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: They may have updated it since then, but the PDF I've got had some clickable bookmarks and page numbers that went back to the first page instead of where they were supposed to go. This is still going to be an exhausting game if you can't improvise well (or your group just doesn't want to play along).

CONCLUSION: This is D&D for folks who don't want to play D&D. If you like the D&D tropes but want something lighter and more free flowing, this is a really good choice. If there's something that isn't quite clicking with the game, some folks made a Dungeon World Beginner's Guide as well that'll help you out. Given my experiences with tremulus, I'm inclined to consider Dungeon World for my group's eventual visit to Ravenloft, though part of me really just wants to go into an open setting and see what happens. It covers a TON of ground...before turning around and giving enough advice and examples for you to tinker with it however you need to in order to fill out the game you want to play. Adding it to the short list of games I want to get to the table sooner, rather than later.

I really enjoy the type of game that Dungeon World encourages, but unfortunately it just didn't seem to click for me. I also can't wrap my head around the notion that this is supposedly a rules-light system, yet it's 400+ pages. It doesn't bode well when a common recommendation is to read a free fan-created Beginners Guide just to understand this game.

Dungeon World is the Roleplaying Game I've been wishing I was playing while I'd been playing Palladium and D&D years ago.

Dungeon World describes itself as a conversation, and this is absolutely true. The game doesn't differentiate between "Roleplaying" and "Combat", treating everything as roleplaying in a seamless flow as the players and GM talk about what is going on.

The game is very improvisation-heavy, giving the GM tools to decide what happens when the players either look to them to see what happens, or when they roll the dice. Instead of a binary pass/fail state, the game uses a good result/good result with complication/bad result, interested in consequences as opposed to success and failure. When the GM speaks, nothing never happens!

The rules are divided into smaller chunks, called moves. A move consists of a trigger, which is usually something a character does, or an event that occurs, then a mechanic for deciding the consequences, often rolling 2D6 and adding a stat, and the consequences, which the move will direct you to something interesting happening. Character sheets have everything you need on them to create and play your character. Character creation is fast, consisting of a few decisions that help describe your character, their motivations, and their origin You also have bonds with the other players' characters. This gets the players talking about their characters' relationships with each other very early on in a way that shapes the kinds of adventures they will have.

The GM has rules as well, helping them decide what to say in any given situation. The game plays very fast, bouncing between the GM and players and the rules very smoothly. Everyone describes what is happening, or what their characters are doing, while paying attention to see if they trigger a move. When a move is triggered, it steps in, directs the action to a particular consequence, and steps back out.

The game doesn't have a setting of it's own, but instead encourages the GM to ask questions in the setup phase to establish the setting. The benefits of this method is that there's no great dump of information that the players have to wade through. It also allows the players to introduce elements they are interested in and shape the types of adventures they will engage in. As the game goes on, and more questions are asked and answered, the world fills up with exciting and interesting details.

Dungeon World can be a paradigm shift in focus for people used to more traditional RPGs, with it's emphasis on improvisation. Players and the GM will need to rely heavily on their imaginations to simulate the world and bring the consequences of their actions to life. Tactical depth in the game also doesn't come directly from master of the rules, but of positioning your character in the events and places that allows them to get what they want. This makes talking about what's going on, and the GM being honest about the situation and consequences very important, so the players can make informed decisions.

If you are looking for something that plays fast, and requires very little preparation time to set up, and you love making up adventures as you play and bring surprised, I recommend Dungeon World wholeheartedly.

Dungeon World is a beautiful game.
The rules can seem a like a vague, loose mess at first, but with a little further in depth reading (and consulting the game guide on the Dungeon World home page) you begin to see the beauty in the chaos.
DW is designed from the ground up to bring the narrative (or fiction as they put it) first. Combat has no set turn order, or special separate mechanics, and the GM is encouraged to play it by ear, and swing focus around the table organically as the narrative dictates. The GM is told, in no uncertain terms, to ignore the mechanics when they would make no sense in the narrative

It can be very confusing at first, but I would encourage you to keep plugging away at it. For those who find the rules especially challenging, as I did, I heartily recommend consulting the DW Guide:
http://www.dungeon-world.com/dungeon-world-guide/

Up until recently my only experience with pen and paper RPG's was Dungeons and Dragons, from AD&D up to 4th Edition. I recently got into a gaming group on Roll20 that alternates from D&D 4e and Dungeon World. We've had a few sessions on Dungeon World now and I gotta say I really like the mechanics. It's similar and familiar but also different. The ability to create and resolve bonds with people in your party is a great idea. Simplified combat is nice for a lighter game with less focus on looking through sheets of abilities. The game is focused on keeping a steady flow of conversation going be it GM to players, players to game or players to players. I also like how the game is whimsical in it's approach. I feel very comfortable with this game and I recommend anyone who loves pen and paper RPG's to try it and even if you're new to the gaming genre, this would be less reading, more gameplay and experience to try out.

After one session of the Dungeon World as GM, I like it. The system is easy to learn for players and character-creation does not take lots of time. I like how the players are encouraged to take part into creating the world and the system offers excellent support for GM for how to orchestrate the first gaming session.

The GM content and how to create Fronts is not as clear as the player's section of the game. I do not yet know how well creating fronts supports me in preparing for the character's adventures, but the general idea that the players and their characters are the ones who create the details of adventures is excellent.